This invention relates to E-mail. Specifically, the disclosed protocol uses an assumed E-mail address to mask and/or maintain confidential the specific address of a subscriber, so long as the sender or the receiver is system subscriber.
E-mail services are known under the common name of “remailers”, which enable messages to be sent with anonymity. Reply is a different matter. These services typically do not allow for reply on an anonymous basis.
Other so-called E-mail services are known which require access to a remote server site. Once the user is on the remote server site, massages are sent and received from that remote site. The reader will understand in reading what follows, the E-mail protocol proposed hereafter does not require access to the remote server site to send and receive messages. Rather, in the process that follows, where either the sender or the receiver of E-mail is a system subscriber, mail is forwarded by the disclosed protocol through an intermediate server. It is not required that the system subscriber logon to the intermediate server for message transmission to occur.
Finally, it is known in certain E-mail services—such as certain “match making” services—to maintain confidentiality of real E-mail addresses between E-mail corresponding parties. In these cases, both parties must belong to the same E-mail service. It is not possible for just one party to use the service and maintain the desired secrecy of their primary E-mail address.
The reader will understand that the discovery of a need can constitute invention. I have discovered that there is a need for an E-mail service where the sender, or the receiver of E-mail can have their primary E-mail address maintained confidential or assume a specific identity. A system subscriber can send and receive E-mails in a specific identity without logon to the system. In what follows I disclose such a protocol, which has the additional advantage of permitting smart archiving of incoming and outgoing E-mails in folders related to all E-mail correspondents of a subscriber. Smart archiving of previous or existing E-mails forwarded from other E-mail systems is also included.
In the Specification that follows I will refer to a subscriber's E-mail address as being the “primary E-mail address” of the user. Further, I will refer to the protocol as providing an “assumed E-mail address.” This assumed E-mail address is that E-mail address in the disclosed protocol to which sending and reply is encouraged; using the assumed E-mail address and the protocol here proposed, the primary E-mail address remains hidden or confidential.
Additionally, in the specification that follows I use the term “delimiter”. This is a term of the computer art, which is defined as A character or sequence of characters marking the beginning or end of a unit of data. Examples of such delimiter can include “@”, “.” (that is period), “%”, and other indicia commonly recognized by software as indicating the beginning or end of a unit of data.